


Is this Flirting?

by TheBeckster



Category: Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Gift Exchange, M/M, in which caregivers try to out-care the other and somehow fall in love?, local idiots don't know how to show affection except with food and presents, local idiots don't understand how to flirt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:26:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27276415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeckster/pseuds/TheBeckster
Summary: Two local caregivers don't understand that acts of service and gift-giving definitely count as flirting. News at 11.---Gift Fic for Durotos for the Bokumono Fall gift Exchange!
Relationships: Doctor Trent/Carter, background Elly/Naomi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16
Collections: Bokumono Exchanges





	Is this Flirting?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [durotos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/durotos/gifts).



> My gift for Durotos for the Fall gift exchange!
> 
> I had so much fun with this! As soon as I saw your prompts for Doctor/Carter and awkward flirting I knew exactly what to do with that. I hope you like it!
> 
> -Becks

Is This Flirting? 

Doctor Trent granted himself exactly fifteen seconds to close his eyes, take a deep breath, and bemoan his current circumstances. An early, nasty bout of the flu was sweeping through Mineral Town, and with Elly out on maternity leave he was stuck handling everything on his own. Ely, dedicated as always to her profession, had offered to come back to work early, but with a newborn at home, she couldn’t risk exposing the baby’s undeveloped immune system to such a nasty bug. And Trent was capable enough to handle things on his own for a few weeks, so Elly could stay home with Naomi and the baby and not have to leave herself in quarantine.

Cases trickled in slowly at first, school aged children brought home bugs from their classmates and infected their homes. And then, almost overnight, half the town got the flu, and Trent was up to his stethoscope with sick and whiny villagers. Trent's fifteen second break was up. He stepped out of his office and into the waiting room. He looked over the crowded waiting room and felt his strength diminish a bit. It was packed full of coughing, sneezing, feverish, aching, wheezing patients who almost all expected him to work medical miracles. What he wouldn't give for a miracle.

Trent took a moment to draw a long, cleansing breath. Today was going to be a very long day. A very long day stacked on top of a very long week, preceding what was likely to be another very long week. The joys of flu season. He scanned the sign-in sheet for the next patient, ignoring the empty pit in his stomach. No time for lunch today, and dinner would be very late. He called the next name on the list.

It was with no small amount of relief that Trent flipped the clinic sign to "Closed" at 5:30. An hour and a half late. Not bad for flu season. He turned back to the clinic and his heart fell at the bedlam of the clinic. Cleaning, restocking, and taking inventory would keep him working well into the night. Trent stood there for a minute, going back and forth with himself over whether or not to have dinner now, or just eat later. He had a feeling once he sat down, he would have some trouble mustering the energy to keep working.

He started off with the reception desk, collecting patient files, and sorting them by those that needed additional notes, those that needed bills sent out, those with scheduled follow ups, and a dismaying few that could just be signed off and filed away for the day. He hefted the stack of folders into his office and left them on the desk; paperwork could wait until later.

He returned to the reception desk and began tidying. Elly's system was efficient and a blessing in its own merit, and he didn't want to mess that up. With pens returned to their place, additional paperwork filed away, and inventory sheets pulled for later, he sprayed the desk down with disinfectant and moved on. He was cleaning up the exam room when he heard the quiet sound of the clinic bell ringing. Trent's heart sank a little and he took a second to breathe and fortify himself. People didn't come to the clinic after hours unless it was an emergency. He walked into the waiting room just in time to see Carter setting a covered casserole dish on top of the reception desk. The pastor's ever-present smile grew upon the doctor’s entry. "I thought you might appreciate a hot meal."

Whatever he had brought smelled savory, warm, amazing. Trent's stomach growled loudly, his cheeks went pink.

"Skipped lunch again, huh?"

"It was a busy day."

"I saw. Flu season is never easy, and with Elly out, I imagine you're pulling quadruple duty."

Trent nodded distractedly. All he could think of was whatever Carter had brought, sitting down for five minutes and getting some hot food in his body, but there was still so much work to do, by the time he finished closing up for the night the casserole would be cold. Though he was hungry enough that he was certain it would taste amazing even cold. He picked up the casserole, he could feel heat permeating through the insulated cloth carrier. His stomach growled again.

"Thank you, Carter. I appreciate it. I look forward to having it later."

Carter frowned. "Nonsense. You can take a few minutes now for a meal."

"I really shouldn't there's so much left to do tonight."

"And it's not going anywhere. You can take ten minutes." Carter took the dish from Trent's hands and started up the stairs. The doctor sighed and followed, unsure if he was annoyed at being strong-armed into a short break, or grateful for the excuse.

Carter was familiar enough with the kitchen, as he and Trent semi-regularly got together to talk over tea or something stronger. Trent felt like he blinked and suddenly he was seated at the table with a plate of food in front of him, and there was a kettle heating on the stove. Carter set a tall glass of water down and gently instructed, "Eat, drink, heaven knows you need it."

Needing little encouragement, Trent dug into his meal. The casserole was simple, chicken, rice, cheese, and broccoli. Simple, hearty, delicious. Trent tried not to wolf down the food, but he was starving. Carter chatted mildly, not expecting a response, as he poured the hot water into a mug of tea. He set the steaming mug down and said, "No returning to work until you finished your tea."

Trent looked up skeptically at him. Tea could wait.

"I mean it, Trent, you can sit for more than five minutes."

The doctor sighed, "I never appreciate Elly more than when she's gone."

Carter hummed in sympathy. "You both do the work of two people. Is there anything I can help with?"

"No, you've already done more than enough. Thank you for the food." The casserole dish had enough in it for three or four meals. Something Trent wouldn’t have to worry about for the near future.

"Come now, I might not be able to assist you in the clinic as Elly does, but I can lend where it’s needed. I’m not above mopping floors and washing dishes.”

Trent took a cautious sip of tea, it was still a bit too hot, but it was an excuse to cover his face. His eyes went to the sink full of dirty dishes. He had been too tired the last few days to put much effort in keeping his living space tidy the clinic was more important than a few days’ worth of dishes. "No, really, you don't have to. I can manage quite well. There isn't too much left to do tonight."

That was a lie; Trent was already mentally sorting through his tasks that could be pushed off until tomorrow morning, before the clinic opened. He could wake up an hour earlier to catch up on paperwork.

"I insist. There's no sense in you running yourself ragged, particularly in the middle of flu season. If you go down the town will be lost. I am an eager volunteer."

Trent took a big gulp of his tea, it was still uncomfortably hot, but he needed to get back to work. Arguing with Carter was going to be a losing battle, and he would appreciate the help. "Well... if you insist."

What would have been another three or four hours of work was carved down to just under two, Trent even had time to make some headway on his paperwork. Maybe he wouldn't have to wake up early tomorrow, or perhaps he might get to bed on time for the first time in days. Carter popped into the office, passing over the clipboard. "Inventory's done and everything's been cleaned from top to bottom.

Trent looked up and forced a smile to his exhausted face. "I can't thank you enough, Carter. You're a godsend."

The pastor laughed. "I think that comes as default with the job. But you are most welcome. I am always happy to roll my sleeves up and help where I can. Particularly in this community, nobody ever has to struggle alone."

Trent saw him to the door and waved him down the street. A miserable autumn rain had started, painting everything a wet black save for shining pools of lamplight. Carter pulled his coat collar up and hurried off into the night. Trent returned to his paperwork.

He put in a couple more hours of work, until his eyes were aching and his thoughts were drifting farther and farther away from medical charts and billing. He gave the clinic a cursory inspection before turning in for the night. The place was cleaner than it had been for a couple weeks. Trent hadn't had the time for deep cleans, and he couldn't find a single thing out of place. Carter had gone above and beyond what had been asked; Trent would have to find a suitable thank you gift.

He trudged upstairs, turning over gift ideas in his head. A nice bottle of wine perhaps, or a selection of gourmet teas, maybe something home cooked, a counterpart to the food Carter had brought him. Speaking of food...

It was getting late, and Trent would love nothing more than to fall into bed and not move for several hours. But he knew he should make a dent in those dirty dishes. He was almost certain he was down to his last clean cup and plate. Heaving a weary sigh, he stepped into the kitchen and flicked on the light and stopped cold.

The kitchen had been cleaned, the dishes had been washed, the table scrubbed, the floor swept and mopped. Trent groaned, despite the sudden pounding in his chest and the warmth on his face. Carter didn't have to do that. He had just offered to help with the clinic. That was awful nice of him, even for a man as caring and giving as Carter.

Trent smiled as he flicked off the kitchen light and turned to his bedroom. He would have to think of a much grander thank you gift now.

* * *

Carter was surprised to hear the church doors open late on a Wednesday morning. It wasn't often the church received visitors on work days. Cliff always came around for his evening prayers and talks, but he worked Monday thru Friday. In fact, most town residents came for weekend services or had their own routine schedules. If anyone came off-schedule, they usually had something heavy weighing on their mind, and were turning to Pastor Carter for guidance, forgiveness, or sometimes just someone to vent to. That being said, he was pleased to see a familiar, and entirely surprising, figure standing in the doorway. Oh, Trent came around often enough, but usually in the evenings, after hours, never on a Wednesday. His hours on his days off were precious, and carefully spent – and given the business of the last week, Carter half expected the town doctor to spend his free day catching up on sleep, or more likely still working, just without the open office hours. Still, Carter was happy for this surprise visit from his friend.

Trent's hands were full, and Carter hurried to help relieve him of the burden. He had brought back the casserole dish. "This is a pleasant surprise." Carter was briefly confused as he lifted the dish from Trent's hands, there was more heft to it than he expected. Trent adjusted his hold on the paper grocery bag tucked in his arms.

"I wanted to thank you again for your help the other day." Trent's cheeks were pink. The wind today was rather cold, howling down from the north with a sample of winter. "I thought one good meal deserved another."

Ah, that explained the full casserole dish.

"One of Ellen's recipes; just bake it for half an hour or so and it'll be good for dinner. And here," he thrust the grocery bag at Carter, "Also to thank you for everything else."

"Oh," Carter tried adjusting his hold on the casserole dish to take the bag. "That really wasn't necessary, Trent. I was just helping a neighbor."

"I know, but I greatly appreciated your help." Trent then realized what he was doing, and his cheeks went pinker. "Sorry, I can put this down somewhere." He stopped trying to pass off the grocery bag.

Carter laughed lightly and led him back to his little apartment in the back of the church past the confessional. There wasn't much space; it was a little one-room with a kitchen-dining-living space, and a bed hidden behind a divider in one of the corners. It was all Carter needed; he was a man of few needs.

Trent set the bag on the dining table while Carter slipped the casserole into the fridge. He turned back to see the doctor frowning at the one window the apartment had. It had fallen victim to a wayward tree branch during a hurricane over the summer.

"You still haven't been able to replace that?"

"Oh, no, not yet. Still working on setting aside the funds and getting Gotz to have the time. He patched it up wonderfully, but a full replacement is at the bottom of his list of priorities."

Trent hummed and nodded. That hurricane had caused a lot of damage around town, and Gotz had been kept extremely busy in the months since. But with winter fast approaching, even one broken window needed to be taken care of. Still, the carpenter had done a good job patching the broken panes with plywood and plastic sheeting to keep the wind and rain out. Didn't help for heat retention, though, the apartment was chilly with today's wind.

Carter dug into the bag to see what else Trent had brought. He wasn't terribly worried, Trent usually gave useful and practical gifts, but Carter always felt a little strange accepting gifts from anyone. He brought up a couple boxes of different teas, and a bottle of merlot from the Aja Winery, his favorite. Carter felt his heart bloom in warmth. "Thank you, again, Trent." He picked up one of the boxes of tea, it looked like a delicious herbal blend, from one of the neighboring towns' farms. "Care to join me for a cup?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the time today." The doctor smiled apologetically. "Hopefully when the first wave of the flu passes, there will be time again for tea in the evenings."

"Of course. I always look forward to our talks."

They walked together out into the church, still empty, still quiet.

"Remember to take care of your own health," Carter told the doctor. "And if you need help, you only have to ask."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Trent stepped out the door and into the cold wind, pulling his coat tight around him. He ducked his head against the gale. Carter frowned as he shivered himself and closed the church doors. Really a doctor should know he needs to wear a warm scarf in weather like this.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, the weather swung between pleasant, sunshiney autumn, and cold, dismal rain, lingering longer in the wintery chill the closer they crept to the season. With the worst of the first wave of the flu over with, Trent found the time again to meet for tea once or twice a week. He was still tired, manning the clinic all on his own for two months, but he wasn't looking so run down and frazzled.

"Elly will be coming back next week," Trent announced with no small amount of relief one Friday evening.

Carter nodded and stirred honey into his tea. The honey happened to be a gift from Elly and her farmer wife, tucked in with his latest order of yarn from spun from Naomi’s flock. "I think she is eager to return to work. I don't think she knows what to do without three or four people to take care of."

Trent breathed a laugh, "Most people would be busy enough with a newborn, but not Elly."

"It's a special kind of person who can take care of people like that. At least we know Naomi will keep Elly from running herself into the ground."

"Yes. And Elly keeps Naomi from working too hard." Trent took a long drink of tea. "They're good for each other."

Carter may have been imagining it, but he thought he sensed a little bit of jealousy, perhaps longing in the statement. No, his voice probably sounded strange because of the hot tea.

"Everyone needs somebody to keep an eye on them. Even the strongest and most independent in the community." Carter then realized he had inadvertently given himself the perfect segue. "Speaking of, I have a little something for you."

"You what?"

Carter stepped over to his sitting area and grabbed a wrapped package he had set aside a couple days ago. "Here, I noticed you were going around scarf-less, and I was making them anyway..."

Carter had a long tradition of crocheting scarves and hats for anyone who might need them. He had known the craft since he was a boy – his mother’s remedy for anxious hands – and it was a wonderful way to keep his hands busy during slow days, and also have something of use and value to give away when all was said and done.

He passed over the package, internally regretting the way he had framed the gift-giving. This scarf in particular wasn't an afterthought, plucked from a stash of surplus. This one had been created with intention. He had carefully chosen the yarn, a cloud-soft merino that would wash and wear well for years to come, as well as shed water and keep out the bitterest of winter winds. And he had taken Trent's color preferences into consideration, making the main color of the scarf black with some sage-green accent stripes. Working with black yarn was a pain, the dark color ate up the stitch definition and made picking up loops a little difficult, particularly in low light, but the end result was worth it.

Trent's cheeks went flush and red as he stammered out many, "Oh, thank you's" And "you didn't have to's"

To which Carter responded, smiling widely, several, "Of course I did's" and "No, I insist's"

And when Carter wrapped the scarf around Trent's neck he told himself that the doctor's cheeks were even redder than before because of the gift, and he wasn't used to getting spontaneous, thoughtful gifts like this. But really, the gift was one of necessity. The town doctor couldn't go all winter without a scarf. That was a sure way for him to get sick himself. And if Carter's heart beat a little harder and his own cheeks felt warm, that was simply because he liked seeing someone wearing something he made.

* * *

Trent paid a visit to Ellen the next day. He couldn't let Carter's gift go unthanked, particularly one so thoughtful.

"Oh, I should be able to whip something together," Ellen said with a small smile, running appreciative fingers over Carter's handiwork. "Bulky yarn works up quick, and it'll be wonderfully warm."

"That sounds perfect."

Ellen handed the scarf back with a chuckle, "You know there's a saying that if someone makes you something with black yarn it means they really care about you."

Trent felt his face grow warm. "I'm sure he was just trying to use up some yarn."

"Sure he was," Ellen said, a knowing gleam in her eye. "I'll keep you apprised of the timeline, but I suspect this will be ready in a month or so."

True to her word, Ellen had the sweater completed just in time for winter to fully settle into Mineral Town. It was a thick and cozy thing made of light, earthy brown wool. It would be absolutely perfect. With its still unrepaired window, Carter’s apartment was freezing. The sweater would be very effective in keeping Carter warm through the winter months.

Trent hurried down the street to the church. It was another Wednesday afternoon, so he knew Carter would be in. He stopped only for a brief moment outside the door to compose himself. It had been a long time since he had been this excited to give a gift. Perhaps because he knew Carter would greatly appreciate the sweater. Just thinking of the smile on Carter’s face was enough to put a smile on Trent’s. 

Composing himself, Trent pushed the church doors open, and saw the pastor alone at the pulpit, reading over something intently. His heart pounded and his cheeks grew warm again, flush because of the transition from the cold outdoors to the warm church, surely. Anxious because he thought for a brief moment that maybe a whole sweater was overdoing it as a thank-you present. But Carter looked up when Trent stepped in, and there was no denying the bright smile that spread across the pastor’s face.

Trent unwrapped the scarf from around his neck as he walked up the aisle, and handed over the gift box. “It’s a little too late to be a belated birthday present,” he explained in a rushed jumble, “But I hope you like it.”

Carter looked him over quizzically, “But Trent, you already gave me a birthday present.”

Trent winced slightly, that was true. He didn’t know why he said the sweater was a birthday gift, that wasn’t what he had bought it for. “I know, right, sorry, that was dumb to say.” He drew a breath and shrugged. “I just wanted to give this to you.”

He ignored the fact that his hands were shaking a little by shoving them deep in his coat pockets, and his dry mouth was because of the dry winter air, but the tight, queasy feeling in his stomach was hard to explain away. But all his worries disappeared when Carter opened the gift box, and pulled out the sweater, and he saw his friend’s expression at the gift. Warmth bloomed in his chest, and a smile of his own pulled at Trent’s lips.


End file.
